Free Web NovelChapter 455: Chapter 204: Tuoba Yunhong, Dynasty Sects (2)
If Guo Wei and Chu Lingguang, after getting wind of the situation, didn’t go on high alert—instead running off to the Canal to show off their spear and sword skills and carousing on the Song Boats—any news that reached the Turkic people would only make them suspicious. It would be like hanging a sign that said, "Nothing to see here."
Therefore, for the next several days, Chu Lingguang and Guo Wei stayed at Master Yan’s home, rarely venturing out to train. Master and apprentice spent their days together, not only exchanging insights on the Martial Arts but also discussing various techniques for killing and subterfuge.
For example: What should you do if you run into an enemy in the middle of the night?
What if you’re outnumbered and overpowered?
What do you do after you’ve successfully killed them?
And what if you fail?
Gradually, Chu Lingguang came to realize that people knew far too little about Guo Wei. His unparalleled Spear Technique was merely what he showed on the surface.
The Flying Leaf Lotus Spear was just the public-facing skill. According to Guo Wei’s philosophy, if you had to face your target in a direct confrontation when planning to kill them, you had already committed a grave error. That was the way of a brute.
The true art of killing was to use one’s surroundings, to strike fatally without god or ghost knowing, or even to kill your target through the hands of another.
The two, master and apprentice, held nothing back from each other.
After several days of deep conversation, Chu Lingguang had not only learned numerous methods for killing, but he had also mastered various ways to dispose of a body and erase all traces, and even the art of framing an innocent party. He also gained a preliminary understanding of various unique Hidden Weapons and the means to create poison.
He also came to understand that the world’s top assassins could kill with their minds, achieving true formless assassination. Guo Wei admitted he lacked that kind of power, but he knew how to use disguises and alter his aura to deliver a fatal blow at the critical moment in a myriad of situations. And if an assassination failed, he knew how to create chaos, retreat swiftly, and eliminate all suspicion.
It was safe to say that in those few short days, while Chu Lingguang’s Combat Power hadn’t increased, he felt as if he had added decades to his life. He also finally understood how Guo Wei had mastered the Six-Star Linked Pearls Archery technique.
No one’s power materializes from thin air; every skill is the result of painstaking accumulation and being tempered a thousand times over.
Guo Wei was no exception.
Chu Lingguang could almost see the mountain of souls piled up beneath the arrows of Guo Wei’s Six-Star Linked Pearls. ’This master of mine... he’s loyal and righteous, and he treats me like his own son. But he’s also utterly ruthless. When it comes to his enemies, he kills with cold decisiveness. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have slammed the table and roared with approval upon hearing I had killed Guer Khan and his entourage!’
Time flew.
The Provincial Martial Arts Examination was drawing ever closer.
In the blink of an eye, only half a month remained.
On this day, about a hundred Song Boats sailed in from both upstream and downstream along the South City Canal. A grand sight like this typically only occurred during the years of the Daoist and Martial Arts Examinations. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
According to custom, the various Provincial Examinations were held at the Governor’s Mansions. At a time like this, the Song Boats on the canals should have been sailing toward the Governor’s Mansions that had canal access to solicit business. Why, then, were they all congregating in South City? freёwebnoѵel.com
For half a month, there had been no movement from the Turkic people. Guo Wei had since received word that Gurzahan, carrying the ashes of Guer Khan and the others, had crossed the border in the last few days. He was returning to the Turkic lands to hold a grand funeral for Guer Khan.
With the heightened security for the Martial Arts Examination and the border forts on high alert, the Turkic people wouldn’t dare cause trouble now. So, he decided to take Chu Lingguang out to see what all the commotion was about.
The old master himself was also very curious why a hundred Song Boats would gather on the South City Canal at this particular time. Master Yan, who was beside them, had already sent men to gather information. He noticed that several of the Song Boats were renowned along the Canal; with them now docked in South City, perhaps this was the perfect chance for him and Guo Wei to make a splash.
The three of them—master, apprentice, and Master Yan—went to the docks.
There, they saw over a hundred Song Boats spread out on the Canal like a peacock’s tail, all of them chasing a small boat at the lead. This boat was pure white, as if sculpted from ice and snow.
Maidservants holding lanterns stood at the boat’s bow and stern. The window to the cabin was open, and inside sat a man in yellow robes.
In the Great Yuan Dynasty, the color yellow symbolized nobility.
Generally, only scions of noble houses and the Royal Family and Relatives were permitted to wear it.
The yellow-robed man sat within the cabin, his breathing long and steady. An invisible Wind and Wave Power pushed the small boat upstream, against the current.
Chu Lingguang and Guo Wei both saw that the lanterns held by the two maidservants were emblazoned with a single word: Tuoba.
Just then, the yellow-robed man turned to look at the shore, his eyes meeting those of Guo Wei and Chu Lingguang. A surge of Wind and Wave Power, seemingly controlled by his thoughts alone, caused the small boat to turn and head for them. The vessel moved with impossible smoothness, gliding across the water’s surface until it swiftly reached the bank.
The yellow-robed man emerged from the cabin.
Chu Lingguang shuddered, feeling as though his very essence had been locked onto. ’I wonder... could the Celestial Master Technique break this?’
The yellow-robed man seemed to be heading straight for them.
"A disciple of the Tuoba Clan. He has backing from a sect."
Guo Wei said in a low voice.
"A sect?"
Chu Lingguang asked, puzzled. Yan Zhen had mentioned sects to him before as well.
"Excuse me, might you be Master Guo Wei of Baiyang County?"
The yellow-robed man approached Guo Wei under the astonished gazes of the crowd, his two maidservants trailing behind him. ’Holding lanterns in broad daylight,’ Chu Lingguang thought, ’I wonder if there’s some special meaning to that.’
"I am."
Guo Wei replied with a nod.
Upon hearing his confirmation, the yellow-robed man clasped his fist in his palm and bowed. "This junior greets Master Guo. Your reputation precedes you."
"And you are a young master from the Tuoba Clan?"
Guo Wei did not dare to be discourteous, returning the bow.
"The title of ’young master’ is too generous. This junior is indeed from the Tuoba Clan. My name is Tuoba Yunhong. I have come from the Southern Domain, and all along my journey, I have often heard of the deeds of Master Guo and your esteemed apprentice, Chu Lingguang."
